The Inevitable Truth
by Margaret Lavorne
Summary: Max was kicked out of the flock, and Itex has been defeated. But Max is slipping away. Only one thing can save her. Her reason for living. Reveiw!Character deaths, M for dark themes and descriptions.
1. Chapter 1

**OK!! Hi this is my first fanfic!! I'm sorry if it somehow begins to sound like another one!! I need tips!! Anyone feeling free to give advice? **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters exept Dray, George, and Axle. James Patterson does.**

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What do get, when all the world has turned on you, as though wobbling on its axis, and you feel SO alone? Me, Maximum Ride. Oh yeah, that pain, secrecy and darkness must feel real good right along with it…

It had all happened so suddenly. First it was Angel, then it had been Iggy, and so on and so forth, until the only one left was Fang, and even he did _it. _They had all turned against me, thinking (whitecoat influenced thinking) that I had been the traitor, all along. My mind had been stunned that they'd think that. I could read Fang like a book though. I saw in his dark eyes that he didn't want to believe them, but there was too much evidence. "What evidence?" I had screamed at them, on that night, almost a year ago. They'd said I had to go to the whitecoats. I had stared at them with disbelief. "Excuse me?" I'd asked.

Now, It all seemed so far away. And where was I now, you ask? Well, I just might tell you. Okay, so I _will_ tell you. I'll just cut to the chase, instead of dragging it out.

I was standing outside the last Itex building, watching it burn, with my friends standing tiredly next to me, George, Axle, and Dray.

Okay, now Iknow you're all like, "Whoa? what happened to the flock?" I'm gonna cut it short. Again. _They kicked me out._ Anyway, I looked at my friends. Whoa. Was Axle _crying_? I had never seen him cry in the short 8 months I had known him. And he was like, 14 and a half, only about 6 months younger than me.

"Axle, whats wrong?" I asked gruffly, even though the guilt was creeping through me, ready to break through at any moment. We had tried to get as many innocent experiments out as possible, then, we'd dropped the bombs. This was the last one. I crouched down, put my head in my hands, cried. I cried for my _real _flock, (though I loved Dray, George, and Axle as much as any non-blood-related sibling can). I cried for Fang. Oh god! I missed him SO much. I cried for all the innocent people we'd missed in the Itex Plants and Schools. And while I cried, I didn't notice Dray gathering me into his arms. I cried into his shoulder for what seemed like forever.

When I finally looked up, he whispered, "It's over. It's finally over." I looked deep into his bright blue eyes, seeing a feeling of deep relief, and suddenly I noticed how long his fiery orange hair was. I sighed. I've got to stop letting them comfort me. I was the leader. I was supposed to be taking care of them. Not the other way around. I tapped one of my fingers against his hair.

"You need a haircut." I said. He laughed. George came over to me and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" She asked me. I nodded. Axle looked at me, the question in his eyes_. Where are we going now_?

"Where's the closest city?" Dray asked, almost reading my mind, though, no, he does NOT have telepathic powers.

"St. Louis." George said. Then, I noticed how she kept brushing her long, brown hair out of her face. And when I say long, I mean _long._ It reached the back of her legs.

"We'll all be getting a hair cut there," I said. Then, the thought of _Fang_ crossed my mind. Ugh. I had managed not to think about him for say, five minutes, and then my mind had to ruin it. That was the day I decided to change. If Fang wanted me to leave, the _real _Max, would be leaving, permanently, unless someone could possibly bring her out. And _that, _was unlikely.

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I looked out over the edge of the building. And I couldn't see the bottom. We were sleeping on the top of a tall skyscraper, somewhere in the "bad part" of St. Louis. What can I say, it was one of the last skyscraper tops available. It was early morning, only a few weeks after the last Itex had gone down. I crouched down. The sun was just peeking out from the horizon, instantly, but for no reason, reminding me of Fang. Basically everything reminded me of the flock. Suddenly, I heard motion behind me, and I turn my gaze steely and cold. I turned around. Axle had sat up from under the blanket we carried with us. I watched as the wind swirled his dark hair around his face.Jeez... I seriously had to get these kids some haircuts. I thought. But all the while I didn't stop keeping my gaze icy.

"Max?" He asked.

"Yeah?" I said, still not showing emotion.

"I'm hungry." He stated. Aren't we always? I thought.

"Fine." I said, speaking quietly, fitting my sober mood. I stood up. "Who wants to go dumpster diving?" Everyone groaned. If they didn't like me as leader, they should've just kicked me out. I thought bitterly. And why not? Fang did. I sighed, though quietly enough so that no one could hear me. I don't know why they put up with me. I still treated them as though they were 11 or 10. Not 15-year-olds. "Come on." I ran to the edge of the building without another glance over my shoulder. I leaped off the edge, not bothering to let out my wings until I was dangerously close to the ground. God, it felt SO good... But then I felt the tug on my heart, and the sunlight reigning down on the Earth seemed to grow darker, like the bittersweet victory of a war. It was won, but does that make it worth the lives of so many? Then, I closed my eyes, not really caring anymore. I saw Fang's face, Every living detail, displayed across my closed eyelids. It was like what I think going to hell would be like. And, so, my new life began. But with a haunted past, comes more danger. That was the moment I realized, that I was slipping away. Soon, I would be gone, and in my place, a girl not left with the will to live, an empty shell of the person she'd once been. The long lost words constantly whispering in my ears, I began to fade away. I was losing myself.

God! I have seriously got to stop talking to myself! That was the last thought I had as I flew off into the dawn, surrounded by friends, yet SO utterly and eternally _alone_.

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**OKay!! Did you like it?? PLease review and give me tips!! Though I do like writing in a dark mood!!**


	2. Chapter 2

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OK!! HI! Thanks FreeFaller0426, O Wingless One, 14rosestar15, and "just another fortune cookie" for reading and reviewing!! Sorry it's been taking a while! I've been really busy! ;)

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I landed almost silently in a dark alley, somewhere near the edge of town. I turned around to see three pairs of eyes behind me, one pair blue (Dray), another green (Axle), and the last pair a strange silver (George). I held my finger up to my mouth to signal them to stay silent. I looked towards the street. My breath froze in my chest. There was a stray dog. Normally, a thing like that could've made me laugh. But seeing it now, it reminded me of why they'd kicked me out. Because the whitecoats had finally convinced the flock that I was an "eraser" Max, they'd told me to get lost. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder bringing me back to the present. I folded my wings in tight, put my jacket on, and walked out into the sunlight. I walked along and had my hand running along the side of the building. Then, I felt the world grow sharper, icier. I looked down at my palm and felt physical pain. I had a one inch gash on my hand. I like this icy feeling. It made everything clear.

"Max?" George asked.

"Hhm?"

"The dumpster's that way." She said, pointing in the opposite direction. I felt like a moron. Okay, I was seriously going to have to get used to this whole "Max of steel" thing. Then, a ache tugged at my heart. That was the first time it plagued me. I ignored it, thinking it was nothing, but it was something. Something big.

"Oh." I said as I turned around. We walked on the sidewalk, seeing other homeless people. Oh joy. Our new neighbors. One guy gave me the evil eye. I glared at him. If looks could kill, he'd be dead. I looked ahead and _almost _smiled as I saw a worker tossing good but unsellable food into the dumpster in boxes. I looked both ways, but no one seemed to be looking. I ran for the dumpster, as did a very enthusiastic Axle, an almost hyperventilating George, and a very calm and content Dray. We grabbed as much food as we could stuff into our pockets, then grabbed boxes and boxes of burgers, fries, and any other kind of food you could find at a fast food restaurant. We bolted back to the alley. We dick a pretty speedy up and away to our temperate home, if that's what you can call the top of a skyscraper. We sat there eating and I closed my eyes in satisfaction and content. And the image of Fang's face, burned into the back of my eyelids, ruined it. I would provably never get it out of my head. Then, my world went black.

I was in a dream, but not really, because then I heard the voice. Jeb. I thought with pure anguish.

_Maximum. Maximum, listen to me._

Okay, Jeb, how is it that you leave me alone for months, but when I suddenly go unconscious, you speak to me? I thought.

_Max, listen. they're coming. They want you. _

How come you you won't answer my question? And who's coming for us? I thought. Jeez, he'd never answer a direct question.

_"They're" coming for you. Someone new. They are blood thirsty. You have about a week. Then they will be here and there shall be no escape. _

Huh.

Then I suddenly shot into consciousness. I sat up and stared into a pair of worried blue eyes. I saw them glow with relief.

"She's awake" Dray said. I was shaking. I kept thinking, They're coming. They've probably got the flock. Maybe it'd be good to get caught. Then, no, they'd experiment on us. My mind was whirling with these thoughts. Then, Fang. They might have Fang. Oh, God I wanted to see him again. That was when I felt the familiar tug on my heart and a my breath froze in my chest. It always did when I thought about Fang. I mean, I loved the rest of them dearly, but he'd been my best friend. A violent shaking woke me out of my day dream.

"Max?" Dray asked, slowly stopping with the shaking of my shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"No." I mumbled.

"What?" He asked, not hearing what I'd said, despite supersonic hearing. I nodded my head yes. "OKay, just don't do that again. You scared us."

I just looked at him."They're coming." I stated.

"Huh?" George asked.

"That's what Jeb said. He said they are inescapable, and they'll be here in about a week. " I said, answering her question.

"Who are "they"?" Axle asked curiously. I shrugged.

"We should leave soon." I said obviously.

"And go where?" Dray asked incredulously. They all looked at me.

"Does it matter?" I asked. They shook their heads. "Okay, Ready or not, here we come." I sighed. "Off to Anywhere."

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**Please Review! The next chapter will probably be up in the next week. I'm a slow writer. Thanks for all your support!**

** -Now-and-Forever-aJinx**


	3. Broken

**OKay. I have like, three days to complete this story. Thanks trollz for getting me back on here. until I finish the story.**

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**Okay! Please read and review! Thanks for all the reviews already! The next chapter will probably be up within the next week. Random fact about me: I love eakingspay (speaking) igpay (pig) atinlay (Latin). **

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I looked down. Near my feet, I saw a steel bar. I picked it up. It might be a good weapon if needed.

"Well," I said, tilting my head, " It's cozy." I was talking about the little cave we had found and were looking at and around.

"They'll _never_ find us here." Dray said sarcastically. I could see what he meant. I had spotted the cave from thousands of feet in the air.

"At least delivery trucks can find it. We need to buy some Al steak sauce." I said, half hearted. I had been feeling the _tugging_ on my heart a lot lately. And to top it off, whenever I closed my eyes, I saw a perfectly detailed picture of Fangs face, forever embedded in the back of my eyelids. I think he was haunting me. Oh joy.

"Why would we need Al steak sauce?" George asked curiously.

"It goes well with rats." I said. She started laughing her head off, but then she looked at my face, and seeing I was being serious, she shut up.

"We might have to eat rats?" Axle asked. I looked at him like he was crazy.

"Where did you even grow up?" I asked.

"I was taken away from the Institute when I was around 2 years old. Then I lived in an orphanage. Until recently when they closed it down. I didn't want to live in another one, so I was on my own for a few months. Then you asked me to join your group." He said contently. I stared at him.

"They let you live in comfort? They didn't find out about your wings? Were you crazy? Those people could have been anyone. They could found out about you! They could be stalking us right now!" I practically screamed.

"Well, I would been more secretive," He said, completely unfazed by my anger, "But I had to take care of George. We grew up together." That was when I noticed George staring contently at Axle. There was something fishy going on, and not like the rainbow trout or catfish kind of fishy, more like the fish-that-looks-all-fine-but-when-you-look-hard-at-it,-It-turns-out-to-be-way-worse-than-it-seems kind of fish. You know? I'd have to check it out later, because that was when I heard the rustling of a bush behind me.

I snapped my body around, facing whoever was coming our way. Nothing came out of the trees. I swiped my hand through the bushes and found no one. The wind rustled again, and I felt the familiar tug on my heart. Then, suddenly, it came as searing pain. I tried to ignore it. Then, a single black feather blew from the west and landed at my feet. I broke down right there. For the first time in forever, I sobbed my heart out, and there was no shoulder for me to cry on. Dray, Axle, and George just stood there. My real flock didn't care. Fine. I grabbed the black feather and tucked it into my ponytail.

"Let's go." I said, embarrassed that my voice trembled.

"Where to?" Dray asked.

"Not here." was his answer.

We were flying over the rocky Mountains a few days later, looking for some cave to sleep in, when I heard a whirring noise. I looked around. All I saw was a speck in the distance. Wait. A speck? A moving speck. Oh crap.

"There's a helicopter moving this way? Land ! Fast!" I screamed, diving at over 200 miles an hour towards the ground. when we hit the ground, we ran, on and on and on. I ran for my other flock. Though I had absolutely no clue what my friends ran for. Then, a voice sounded in my head.

_Max. They only want you, if your other friends are caught, they will execute them. Run. Fast._It was Jeb. Then, I felt a stinging in the back of my neck, and I fell, landing on my arm with enough force to break it. Then everything went black.

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I woke up and looked around me. all there was were white walls. No doors. I was all alone. I satred hardly at the wall in front of me and barely noticed the pain emanating from my broken arm. The lights turned out, an when they came back on, a whitecoat stood there. He had black hair and dark brown eyes. Just like Fang's. a single tear slipped down my cheek. My sorrow turned to anger, then surprise. A Whitecoat? We destroyed Itex. Then, Uh Oh. Then I saw a gleam from the whitecoat's hand. In it was a needle and vile. He spoke, sounding eerily like Iggy.

"We need some blood for testing." He said firmly. I sighed and looked down. He walked over and stuck the needle into my arm and drew out blood. The lights went out, and he was gone. In his place, on the floor was a piece of paper. On it was a photograph, from my days living in the E shaped house in Colorado. The photograph showed all of my flock, Angel, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Fang, and where I'd been in the picture, was a torn and gaping hole. A few more teardrops joined the one on the floor. I sobbed. It didn't matter anymore. All my friends were gone. Then, as I turned the picture over, I saw something that broke me even more, if that was even humanly possible. It was a picture of when I'd kissed Fang on the beach, after Ari had kicked his butt. More tears stained the floor. I looked closer. I saw fangs blood and scrapes all over his body. That was what finally drove me over the edge.

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The tugging on my heart only got worse during my imprisonment. It grew to an sharp ache each time I took a breath. The whitecoats had come in several times. eventually lost count. This time, though, they came in different. There were carts with them. Two to be exact. They where covered with sheets, concealing the things beneath them. The one whitecoat pulled the sheets back, one by one. He pulled back the first one. My eyes widened with horror. There was Axle's body, cold and dead. He was covered in burns. Next, he rolled back the one to his right. George. Her red hair steamed out beneath her, an her whole body was contorted with whip marks, buises and blood. I could've drowned in my tears. The light went out, and the carts and whitecoat were gone. I punched the wall, not even careing about the broken knuckle. As I sat there that night, or what I guessed was night, I realized what the aching longing was for. I longed for my flock, every one of them, and I longed for my best friend, Fang. He might have never known it, but I'd loved him for the longest time. It had been for nothing too. I sobbed in anguish. I didn't think they could do anything else to make me anymore broken. But I was wrong.

The next evening, The lights went out, and I practically started crying right there. when they came back on, Dray stood there, alone and bound. I an to him and untied him. Once undone, he hugged me

"Where are George and Axle?" He asked. It was al I could do not to sob. But I had to tell him.

"Dead." was the only answer he got. He leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, silently crying. I guess even he had a breaking point. I eaned on his shoulder and he rested his head on mine. We stayed like that all night, until the lights again went out. When they came back on, Three people stood there. A whitecoat, and two men dressed in black. The ache in my heart intensified to the roaring pain of what felt like a dagger. I curled into a tiny ball on the floor, trying to keep from screaming. as I passed in and out of consciousness, I was unable to do anthing at all about them taking Dray away.

I closed my eyes late that day, and saw Fangs face, filled with anguish, and Dray's face, contorted in pain. Blood flowed like a river from his broken form. I had to opn my eyes to keep from vomiting.

They brought him back late the next night. I tired to get there in time, but the man in black got there first. They grabbed him and drug him past my from one arm. With the other hand, he slipped a note into my hand. I didn't have time to look at it as thy strapped him to the wall.

"Your friends are dead, and now it's you're turn," One of the excutioners sneered. I saw a look of uncomprehendable pain pass on Dray's face, and with that, they pulled the trigger.

I saw the bullet enter his chest. I saw the red blossom of blood follow. I heard the sickening thud as his body hit the floor. I heard him take his last, strained breath. I wathed the light slowly fade from his eyes.

A savage rage consumed me. I saw red. Power raced through my veins. I focused on the man who'd pulled the trigger. I pulled back my fist and puched him. Flames shot into him from me, and burned him to ashes. I was so angry that the same fate followed for the other two. I don't know how it happened, but I'm guessing that I mutated by myself. You can never know for sure.

I knelt to the floor in utter despair. But the blood on the floor, the brown feathers in the blood, and the calm look on Dray's eyes was what finally drove me over the edge.

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I lost myself after Dray's death. My spirit rested in a cold slumber. They took me for tests, brutally whipped me, and tortured my body and soul. I barely felt any of it. I remained an empty shell of who I'd once been. Long lost words whispered slowly to me, and I couldn't find what kept me here. I felt hollow inside, and that someone was watching and wanting me. I retreated deep into the ressesses of my mind whil on the outside was horribly broken.

Slowly, a small sense of self entered my conscious, and I quickly made it my own. My name was Maximum Ride. After weeks in recovery. I opened my eyes. I was strapped to a metal hospital bed. I sent flames onto the straps burning them, and my arms. I jumped out of the bed and ran through the metal door. My IV snapped and blood squirted everywhere. I had only one mission. My heart felt the familiar tug for my flock and my best friend. I sped down the hallways until I came to a room with contralls in it. I saw a radar. That was all I needed. A very confused man gasped as I walked in.

"You're supposed to be dead! He pactically shreaked.

"Well, so sorry to disapoint you. Now tell me, where is the first flock? My flock." I said. He remained silent. I snapped, and a flame appeared at my thumb. Do you know how much pain an ever-lasting burnn can cause?" I said slowly for emphasis. He still would not talk. I focused and shot a small amount of flames towards him. With control, I made them circle his waist.

"Okay! Okay!" He cried . "Just don't burn me! They're near the coast in South Carolina! That's all I know!!" He said. I through a piece of metal at him, knocking him out. I ran and jumped through the only window in the room. I flapped my wings, and with a few hard stroked where soaring through the skies at over 200 miles an hour on a mission to get my friends and family back. I closed my eyes and saw Fang's face. The tugging on my heart increased to an ache, an I smiled as I remember the black feather in my hair, that had gotten me throough life, that night many weeks ago. I smiled into the dawning sun.

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**IMPORTANT!! READ NOW!! :I can only continue on fanfiction if you DO NOT review or add me to your favorites or whatever. Just read. Nothing else. If you do I have to leave. No explanation. Got it? good.**


	4. The Note

**First of all: I am REALLY sorry this took so long, but I'm not going to blame it on someone else. It's my fault. I have writers block. But it going away slowly.**

**Second: oh my god. I cannot believe that over 700 people have been reading this! I am Extremely happy. Thank you all for reading them, and for _NOT _reveiwing! **

**Okay! Hello. does anyone know who pastel.butterfly and O Wingless One is? Cause she\he does NOT read the author's notes. READ THEM PEOPLE! They're there for a reason!! Yes I know that last chapter was a little dark, but I was rushed and it was like 2:00 AM when I wrote it. This will probably be the last chapter, but if you don't reveiw, I can keep writing. Again, no eplanation.**

**DO NOT REVIEW OR ADD ME TO ANY OF YOUR LISTS, FAVORITES, OR ANYHTING ELSE!! iF YOU DO, I'M LEAVING FANFICTION. GOT IT? GOOD...**

**Okay here it is:**

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The wind blew rain into my eyes,blinding me. The lightning flashed near me. The purple storm clouds where my only companions, and then there was the rain. I was flying through a thunder storm in the dead of night. It was probably a really stupid thing to do. Lets just say that at this time I lacked a little thing called common sense. I was just so alone. I wanted to be with my flock more than anything. The pain on my heart was a sharp, icy pain every time I took a breath. That was when I heard a a whirring noise. I sped towards the ground at over 200 miles an hour, I was NOT going to get caught again. I landed, skidding when I reached the ground. I started running. I ran through the shadowed woods for hours. I slipped through a creek at least 4 times, and hid behind a tree or in the underbrush whenever I hear the whirring of the helicopter. Finally, I saw a road. The road ran to the east, and to the west. I ran in the woods next to the road, heading east.

Bad luck made my foot get caught on a tree root, and I fell face first into a puddle. I stayed motionless at least thirty minutes after I couldn't hear the helicopter anymore.

I got up, my muddy hair plastered to my face. Okay now, onward to my friends! I thought. I took a running take off, and soared high into the air.

**_Yeah right, unless they're dead._** It was the Voice.

_Whaaat??_ Was the only word that came to my mind.

**J_ust kidding, kidding. _**The Voice said.

_Since when do you tease people? _I asked.

**_Since now. _**

_Just shut up and leave me alone. No, wait!_

**_What? _**

_I have a question._

**_Out with it!_**

_Where **exactly** is the flock? _I asked.

**_Do you really want to know?_**

_Yes!_ I practically screamed in my head.

**_They are looking for Jeb. They want to kill him for what he did, faking the whole 'Eraser Max' thing that had them make you leave._**

_Wow. That was hard to follow. So where **are **they?_

**_They are in a small town, Brevard, North Carolina._**

_Oh, pertfect! I'm in the wrong state! _

**_Well, you have wings, don't you?_**

_Yeah, but what are they DOING there?_

**_I told you! They're traking down Jeb They want to kill him for what he did, faking the whole 'Eraser Max' thing that had them make you leave._**

_Again, hard to follow. I meant, what will they do after that?_

**_They were going to track you down and apologize._**

_Ahem. I think you both have something to apologize for. _

**_Yes, yes. I'm sorry the scientists at the school killed your friends, but they were weighing you down._**

My mouth dropped open, horrified. "They were weighing me down?" I asked aloud slowly.

**Yes. You couldn't have two flocks. And then, you would be too stressed to save the world.**

I finally closed my mouth, due to the certainty of eating bugs. "_You killed human beings, just for the sake, OF MY STRESS LEVEL_?!" I screamed the last part. If Fang had been here, he would grabbed me and hauled me off to the closest mental institution.

**Yes, but that stress level would've made you too busy to save the world. That's a lot of people's lives. **

I growled and mumbled under my breath. I jammed my hands into my pockets. _And felt paper. _Oh my god. Dray's note. I pulled it into my hand. The paper was stained with a few drops of blood. Dray's blood.

It read:

_Max, I have tell you something. I am sorry that I never got to tell you in person, but... OKay, _

_I'm gonna come right out and say it. Max, I love you. I wish I could still be there to wrap my _

_arm around your shoulder. Someday, you'll grow old with someone else, but I wish it was me. _

_Oh, how I wish it was me. I miss you. Goodbye Max, I love you._

I didn't know that I was crying until the sobs wracked my body, and tears fell hundreds of feet to the ground. The sadness in me turned to fury.

_Voice? What was the name of the company that killed Dray, Axle, and George._

**Voltex. **

_Thank you. The flock is in North Carolina?_

**_Yes._**

I soared towards the north, fury edging me into super speed.

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**Yeah, I know this chapter is short, and it took a LONG time to write. (Partially because I never get on here,) SO NO REVIEWS!! Thank you. I'm working on the next chapter now. **


	5. Finally Seeing The Truth

**Okay People! Review Away! I fixed that problem (whatever it may be) and now you can review all you want! And Now, I will be on here as much a possible! Thank you! R&R! :) I cannot believe that over 1000 people have read this! I mean, I'm really a terrible writer, when it comes to a story that I didn't write. **

**Oh yeah, Read Wings of Wrath! One of the BEST fanfictions in all time! I read it. BUt it's REALLY long. but I LOVED it. :) OKay Read AWAY! :)**

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I was flying through a cloud. I mean, I hate clouds. When I came out of it, I was completely drenched. I was still fuming. I was going to get them for this. I SO was. I mean, they KILLED my only friends (at that time). I was livid. This was over the line. So I had to find my real friends, and we had to destroy Voltex. They were murderers. They had chosen their own destiny. I flapped my wings harder, and went into sonic speed. It was such an adrenaline rush. I was rushing fast against a northern wind. I felt the tugging on my heart change directuion, and I changed my course.

I had to find my flock. Got to find my flock. That was when something hit me, and I fell. Then, all went black.

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**The Flock's POV**

Fang knelt down and put his head in his hands. This was his weakness. Max was his weakness. He needed her by his side to keep living. She was what kept him going. He was her best friend. But lately, he'd realized that those were not the only feelings he'd had for her. He'd never actually believed that she'd been an eraser, but that had been what the rest of his flock had said. The moment when he'd started missing her, and needing her was about 20 minutes after she'd left.

The rest of the flock was a mess. He'd caught Angel, Nudge, and Total crying twice in the past week, and Iggy had gone mute. Muter than him. If that were even possible. Gazzy had become like one of the walking dead. Souless, and emotionless. The only change that had happened to Fang was in his heart. There was always a faint tugging on it. But lately, the tug had become an aching, crushing pain. That was when they had started to look for Max. Fang crossed his arms and hugged them against himself, as if to hold him together. But there was a storm approaching. They needed to head back.

"Home guys," Fang said soberly, and changed direction. They flew for about an hour, and came to rest on an old abandoned medium sized house, nestled out inbetween the Smokey mountains.

Fang pushed open the wooden framed door, and hurried inside. The others followed.

"I'm hungry," Nudge murmured. Iggy got up and began making some food. Gazzy went into the living room and turned on the old rickety TV. Fang heard voices drifting out from it.

_There has been a horrific explosion at a laboratory in Illinois. The laboratory has been identified to be part of the company Voltex. Newscasters everywhere have been talking about it..._

The voices dragged on and on. He started towards his room, but rushed back to the TV. On the screen, there was a large building, that looked somewhat familiar. It was similar to the old Itex design, except that this one looked better equiped, and more dangerous. He thought. Oh my god. That might have been Max. But they couldn't leave now. There would be no point in it.

They were all exhausted, so they'd set out in the morning. Fang walked slowly up the stairs, and the flock stared after him with empty eyes. He walked into a room in the upper floor of the old house. Part of the floor was collasped, and he stepped over it. He walked over to the old, cracked window, and pushed it open. Fang climbed out the window and up the side of the house to the roof. He sat there thinking.

Finally it came to him. Finally he realized. Tears rolled down his face, for the first time in so long he couldn't remember, and he whispered, "Maximum Ride, I love you...."


	6. Chapter 7

**Hey, everybody. I _FINALLY_ got the next chapter done. I just finished typing it. I know it's short, but the next (and maybe final) one will be longer. Hey, I read the 5th book and am trying to incorperate it. So if you don't understand the "Hawaii" part, read the Book! The whole global warming theme is still crap, but the book was okay, I guess. It was still kinda weird. Oh well, thanks for reveiwing and reading! :)**

I was flying over a small town in the Appalachian Mountains when a vision of Fang flashed into my head.

_His head was in his hands, and he was mumbling, "Max, please come back to me," over and over again. I saw tears slip down his cheeks._ Tears? _What was this all about anyway? Then, barely audible, he whispered, "Maximum Ride, I love you." _

My jaw dropped open. The tugging on heart was pulling so hard that I thought it was going to come out of my chest. Nope. Instead, it just pulled me of to the southeast.

All of a sudden something hit me in the arm. I reached over a felt a tranquilizer dart. _Oh, great. _I thought. Then I dropped out of the sky like a rock, my wings folding like paper. I saw the ground getting closer, but before I hit it, the dart took hold, and all went black.

* * *

I woke up in a dog crate. Oh joy. I looked out of the bars, and saw that I was in a white room with no exit.

After a few hours of sitting there thinking (Guess who I was thinking about!) and doing nothing, a scientist came in, grabbed my crate, and hoisted me onto a cart. He wheeled me into a room with other scientists, who hauled me out of the crate and into a small, padded cell. They blindfolded me before they took me in, and threw me on the floor. Then the lights came on in the cell, and I struggled off the blindfold. There were no exits, no doors, and the space was relatively small. You know that that is just about the worst combination that anyone could come up with for me. I mean, I'm claustrophobic, and I hate places with no exits.

Then a voice came from overhead. It was one of the whitecoats. He said, "Maximum Ride, we only let you go if you agree to stop working with the CMS. If not, you will remain in your cell for the remainder of your miserable life."

"What's so miserable about it?" I snapped.

"Oh, we'll make you wish you'd never been born." The voice said.

I yawned, "Like I haven't heard that before." Then the lights went out, and I was left alone in the dark, with nothing to comfort me except for my thought of Fang and my flock. I remembered all the memories that we'd ever shared, the kiss on the beach, and our time together in Hawaii. The memories swirled and mixed until I'd lost the distinction of what was what. Fang. That was the only thing that I remembered clearly. And then it hit me. Like a wave, a wave that had been building up for an unbearably long time. The truth was inevitable. " Fang, I love you," I whispered. "I always have."

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**Again, Thanks for reading! ~Margaret Lavorne~**

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	7. Chapter 9

The Inevitable Truth

Chapter: Whatever 2

The Flock POV:

Fang knelt there in the attic of that house for hours, whimpering for Max to return to his side. It wasn't until hours later did Nudge go looking for him.

"Fang?" she called. Nudge got no answer. Iggy came up behind her in the kitchen.

"Where do you think he's gotten off to?" he wondered aloud. That was when they heard the sound of a window creaking open.

Fang stood in the frame of the open window, alone in the attic. It was night outside. His dark wings a warm cocoon around him. He had no more tears to cry, only bitterness at the fact that he had been the one who had pushed his only love away. There were other girls he could have had, of course, but none of them would be her. So he leapt out of the attic window of the old cabin, snapped out his wings, and soared through the sky on a warm updraft.

He flapped his wings as fast as the laws of physics would allow, reaching speeds he had only dreamed of reaching. He pounded out all his frustration, becoming a dark shadow in the night.

Soon though, his strength ran thin. He dropped lightly into a tall pine tree's branches.

He lay down on his back, his arms behind his head, and he thought. He remembered all the times they'd shared with the flock. He saw all the times he'd been jealous of even the thought of her with another guy. He had totally and completely fallen for her. She held his heart in her hand.

And as the moonlight fell softly on his face, he drifted off into the realm of dreams and nightmares.

_The air around him was still. He looked around him, seeing stark white walls, and linoleum floors. It smelled like a hospital. His brain started to go into panic mode, but then he saw her. She was lying on the floor, her hair plastered to her face with blood. Her eyes were closed and a gaping wound ran down the front of her body. It started at her right shoulder, ran diagonally down her chest, and ended near her left hip. Her clothes were soaked through with blood. It was horrible to look, but impossible to look away. He heard gasps behind him, and he realized that the flock was with him too. He didn't care. All that filled his mind her. The terrifying thought that she might be dead almost destroyed him, but then he saw her take a ragged, shallow breath. With that, he ran to her side. Her blood covered the linoleum floor. _

_Her eyes fluttered open, and she whispered, "Fang…" He could not think. All he could do was listen to what his heart told him._

_He brushed the hair from her faced, leaned down, and kissed her bloodstained lips. _

He woke up crying, the tears pouring down his face. With that horrible vision in his mind, he bowed his head, and prayed, " God, please don't let that ever happen to Max."

Sitting up in the branches, he heard someone calling his name. Not someone, lots of someones. His flock was looking for him. But he couldn't let them see him like this. So he leapt off the branch and soared towards the rising sun. The dawn looked beautiful to him, and he soared towards the east and the run down old house.

Nudge raked her eyes over the horizon doing a 360 turn. Iggy grabbed her shoulders.

"Relax Nudge," Iggy paused, uncertainty in his eyes, " he probably just went flying under the moon. You know how often he does that."

"Yeah, but he always comes back before dawn!" she retorted back.

"Shut up!" Angel said. "I getting bits and pieces of his mind, which means he's somewhere around here."

The Gasman just stood there, tears running down his face. "First Max, and now Fang!" he cried.

"Would you all just be quiet? Start listening. He's coming towards us," Angel said loudly.

Immediately, everyone was quiet, and sure enough, they heard the sound of wings soaring toward them.

It took Fang approximately seven minutes to reach his flock. When he did finally reach them though, he said nothing.

"Where on Earth have you been?" Nudge cried. She gave him a hug in the air. "You scared us to death!"

"Went flying," Fang murmured, "and thinking." Thoughts of Max drifted to him. He started leading the flock back towards the abandoned house. Suddenly, he felt another presence in his mind. _Angel, get out of my brain! _Fang thought at her.

She sent him a thought back while Nudge started babbling on about some TV show she saw. _Fang, it's okay. _She's _all that's ever on your mind. You know, you never stop thinking about her. _

_I guess I just can't stop feeling guilty about sending her away, _Fang thought at her.

_You and I both know that's not the whole truth, _Angel thought back. _You might not think this Fang, but I understand you better than anyone in the flock._

He glared at her and sent the thought: _Man, I hate telepathics. My thoughts are complicated enough as it is. They don't need anymore unnecessary problems. _

Then Nudge caught his attention. "Don't you think that Fang?" she asked.

Fang looked at her stupidly, "Uh, what?"

She looked at him, "Don't you think that Oscar Meyer hot dogs are better than Ball Park hot dogs?"

By now they had reached the ground and were walking by towards the house.

He bit his lip. "Nudge, no offense, but I really don't care right now." Tears welled up in her eyes, and she ran towards the house and slammed the front door. He heard her footsteps as she ran to the room she and Angel shared. He looked at Iggy and said, "Jeez, what's her problem?"

Iggy stared at him incredulously. "Why do you have to take your bitterness out on the rest of us. We know it's torn you up about Max, but there's nothing we can do about that now. Dude, you just need to let it go." His voice was cold and quiet. He turned from Fang and ran after Nudge.

He might have imagined it, but did he hear an edge of protectiveness and love in Iggy's voice? Whatever. Right now he needed to sort out his own thoughts, not get involved in theirs.

Gasman looked up at Fang, annoyed. "Well, that was nicely handled!" He ran off towards the old house.

_This is not the end of the story, though the times that I post new chapters are scattered and few. An idea for the rest of the story came to me a while ago, and I intend to finish it. Thank you for all your support,_

_~Margaret Lavorne~_


	8. Losing It

**Max POV:**

I was having another dream as I drifted in the realm of nightmares.

Darkness. That was all I knew. It enveloped me, sweeping aside anything that may have been good, choking the light from life like a snake with its prey. Sadness and sorrow were in my mind, on my heart, in my sight, and on my tongue. I knew not why I felt this way, but I soon would find out. I stumbled blindly on, and I heard water flowing nearby. I stepped into it, and followed it in the shallows. The tugging on my heart increased to an unbearable pain. Clutching at my heart, I moved on. There it was again. Sorrow. My heart felt like a heavy shard of ice in my chest, or as though I had no heart at all. That was when I first heard it. It was my name on the wind.

_"Maximum Ride…" It called chillingly. A sense of dread made me clench my stomach, and unease prickled my spine. Then, people where whispering all around me, but I couldn't see them. They were in hushed tones, and they were speaking quickly. I saw faces, so many faces. And then one. Fang's face lingered in my head more than any other .I heard a quiet moan on the wind, and I recognized Fang's voice. I ran. I ran faster than I ever had before. My foot got caught on a rock and I fell onto the ground with enough force to shatter a bone. So I stood up, blood running down my leg, and snapped open my wings. I streaked through the darkness, search for him blindly. Then suddenly, there he was, standing there, blood pouring freely from a wound in his chest, holding a white glowing orb. I landed softly next to him, and he fell into my arms as I caught him. His hand closed around the white light, and pain stabbed through me. _What is this? _I asked myself. _Why is there pain?

_His hand squeezed more tightly on the orb, and the pain intensified to an unbearable level. Then I got it. He was holding my heart. My heart was in his hand. My jaw dropped. I started choking. I crumpled to the floor, gasping. I grabbed his hand, and he released the light. His eyes snapped open, and I saw a golden light coming from my pocket. I put my hand into it and pulled something out. It was a golden glowing orb, and it was warm. I wrapped my hand around it, and Fang flinched. Oh my god. I was holding Fang's heart in my hand. We rested on the cold icy floor, holding each others' hearts in our hands, and our broken, battered, bleeding bodies in each other's arms. _

I woke up crying. The smell of hospital overpowered my senses. I realized that I was still in that room. Fang. I loved Fang with every fiber of my being. I now realized that we each held part of the other, and we had to have all of us to be completely sane. _Fang! I need you… _I thought blindly in every direction. Then the darkness overtook me again, and I fell back into the flashes of faces and the whispering voices. And the whole time, all I could vaguely remember thinking was: _Oh my god. I am soooo losing it. _

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_Oops, sorry, I forgot to put chapter 8, oh well... Sorry about anything you didn't understand. I forgot to edit the last chapter. Thanks for all your support,_

~Margaret Lavorne~


	9. Escape

The Inevitable Truth

_Readers, I will take my time and get this story right. If I don't write for a few months, don't panic. I have a busy life as well. Please enjoy the ride._

_~Margaret Lavorne~_

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**Max POV:**

Time moves swiftly, even when you feel as though the world has stopped. I was in that horrible place, that cell, for a long time. Longer than I would have wished. During that time, for a while, I lost myself. I let go of reality and let insanity take over. Fang wasn't coming. He couldn't save me. The scientists there found a way to mess with my memories. They twisted the fragile images, made me see things different. Some of my happiest memories, all the times I'd been near Fang, my flock, my friends, times when I'd held Angel as a baby, they took those beautiful times, and twisted them into horrible nightmares. That was why I let myself slip into darkness. Those images that were my lifeline faded away. And during the time that I lost myself, I forgot everything, even about my past, and my friends. All of that knowledge was replaced by the twisted thoughts those scientists put in my head with a newly found chemical that was for healing, but could do horrible damage. Damage to someone like me. No one could beat me physically, but when people started messing with my thoughts, that was when it became dangerous.

And eventually, the only thing I remembered was Fang's face, only his face. His deep, beautiful, chocolate eyes were the only thing that remained. And so, gradually, I remembered all I had forgotten. It came back to me in pieces, not in a steady rhythm.

Now, months later, I finally remembered everything. And I was mad. I burned with a rage so fiery that if you dared look into my eyes, you'd have sank to your knees in fear. I ran against the walls, battering myself into them, bruising myself with no outcome. When I finally calmed down enough to realize I was only hurting myself, I punched holes in the walls, all the way around the room. With my knuckles raw and bleeding (and hurting like heck, though I wouldn't admit it), I tore down the walls, rage fueling my adrenaline. I was blazing mad. I found the metal door, and ripped it open, to find myself in an empty hallway, the red alarm lights flashing like crazy, and an alarm screaming so loud you'd go deaf from listening so long. I raced down the corridor, looking for an exit, barely realizing I was wearing clothes so tattered they looked more like rags, barely covering my skinny body. It was no wonder, considering they'd barely fed me anything while I'd been here. I looked down, and could see my skin stretched tightly over the definite edges if every rib. That was when I realized I was hungry._ Man, I gotta get out of here, _I thought. I ran recklessly down the hallways until I came to a metal door. I pushed on it. Locked. It wouldn't budge.

I screamed in frustration. _Come on, there's got to be another way, _I thought. I looked around, and spotted a fire extinguisher in a glass case on the wall. I punched through the glass, shards of wire-imbedded glass imbedding into my skin. I grabbed the fire extinguisher, and headed to the door. That was when the guard arrived.

"You! Put that down or I'll shoot!" a guard with a handgun shouted at me. Okay, let me give you a heads up on how mad I was by then: I was so mad I was ready to kill this guy. Oh wait. That's normal.

"Listen buddy," I stated slowly, "Put the gun down, or I'll kill you." He shook his head. So I ran at him. As fast as I could.

I watched his eyes as he pulled the trigger, and I ducked and slid on the floor towards his feet, causing him to land on the floor like a ton of freaking bricks. On. Top. Of. Me. I pushed him off me, and hit him in the head with the fire extinguisher. He was out cold. That was when I felt a stinging in my arm. I looked down, and on top of having raw, bleeding knuckles, glass imbedded in my hand, and a body so bruised and scarred I thought I was eventually going to fall apart, I now had a path of flesh carved out of my arm by a bullet, all the way from my elbow up to my shoulder. _I can't believe it! He actually hit me! You think I would have learned my lesson concerning idiots and guns, but hey, you never know, _I thought. It started burning.

I grabbed the fire extinguisher from the ground and started running towards the door. I hit the spot where the lock should have been. _Ow! _I thought. _Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! OUCH!!_ That hurt so badly. That didn't work. The only thing I ended up doing was jarring my bones and probably breaking some in my hand.

Okay, by now, I was so mad that I was seeing red. I punched through the door, completely disfiguring my hand. I grabbed the lock from the other side and wrenched it off, screaming from the pain.

I gingerly edged my tattered hand back through the jagged hole, that's all my hand was, tatters, shreds of flesh and bone. I was screaming inside, and my vision started to flicker. _No, no, NO! _I thought. _I have to get out!_

I shoved the door open with my shoulder and gasped. I was on the roof of a twenty-story high building. I gasped in the harsh sunlight. I hadn't flown for months, maybe a year, and now I had to escape. So, instead of thinking rationally, which you know is NOT my style, I ran, leapt off the building, and snapped my wings out…

* * *

_Time passes swiftly, and even for Fang, even for Max, three years have gone by without them barely even noticing their lives going on._

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**Narrator POV**

Fang sat crouched in a tree looking over a building in a remote area of Tennessee. The building was well concealed, hidden in a valley, and surrounded by impassible barrier of trees. Fang knew the plan. Go in. Get the innocent out. Set up the bomb. Get out alive. That was all it came down to. Besides, he'd done this many times before. He was responsible for all of the bombings on the company Voltex. Fang had found and destroyed many laboratories of theirs over the past few months.

He always knew the flock was safe, back at their home, a house built into one of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The house was totally concealed, and invisible to anyone on the ground. It had probably belonged to a lone miner or hunter. He knew they were safe because he'd checked on them this morning when he'd left. He kissed Angel good morning while she slept, and peeked in on Gazzy and Iggy. Nudge still had the "Do Not Disturb" sign on her door, because she like to sleep late, so he'd left her alone. Fang become more of a father to the flock, now that he was seventeen. _That means Max would be seventeen too, _he thought. _No Fang, don't go there. _

Fang could barely go an hour without thinking about her. He hadn't seen her for almost three and a half years. _It'll be three and a half years in May, _a voice in the back of his mind said. He pushed the thought away with all the others. He focused on the mission. Only the mission. He took off.

Stealthfully and swiftly he raced through the trees, not even a broken branch marking his passing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twenty minutes later there was a huge fireball erupting into the sky, people stumbling out of the ruins, and prisoners headed for the nearest towns. And above it all hovered Fang, the one who'd started it all.

He flapped into a steep climb and went above the clouds. On the winds above the clouds, Fang soared towards his family.

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**Nudge POV**

I woke up this morning to the smell of pancakes and sausage. I ran through the halls practically singing with joy. The food fairies had come again. (Meaning Fang had gone to the store). I walked into the kitchen. Iggy was cooking breakfast. Iggy. I smiled. I'd been feeling unusually shy around Iggy lately. I think I was falling for with him. After all, I am almost fourteen. _And he's almost seventeen. You have no chance. _I thought, but I pushed it away, not wanting to ruin the moment.

Right then, Angel walked in, wiggling her eyebrows at me, no doubt just having read my thoughts. I held my finger to my lips. She shrugged. That was when I really thought about it. Angel was nine already, and the Gasman was already eleven. Speaking of him, Gazzy walked into the kitchen sleepy-eyed.

I walked up to Iggy and wrapped my arms around his shoulders casually and rested my head on one. "Hey Ig," I said.

"Hey Nudge," he continued cooking. "Hey Gazzy, hey Angel."

"Morning," they answered in unison.

I walked over, sat down at the table, and asked, "Where's Fang?"

"Gone again," Iggy answered. It was the same answer as always. "Hey guys, we have to chop wood today."

"Okay," we answered We chopped firewood for a general store in a town about and hours flight from our house, and they gave us store credit there. The old couple that ran the store took pity on us, so sometimes they gave us a little more than our wood was worth, which was okay by me.

So after breakfast we got dressed and headed out into the warm spring air.

* * *

**Flock POV**

Fang got home an hour later, covered in soot and drywall dust. He took a shower, making sure to get all the grime off. He got out, decently clean, went into his basically black room, put on one of his basic black ensembles, and headed out the door. He grabbed his ax and took a running takeoff. He flew west for a while, until he reached the spot they usually felled trees. He heard the sounds of chopping and so he landed carefully and walked towards his flock, the golden morning light glinting off his wet, dark brown hair.

"Hey Fang," they all greeted him. They didn't ask where he'd been. They stopped asking the first time, when he'd decided not to answer. The only one who knew where'd he'd been had been Iggy, whom Fang always asked to make him the bombs. He had even learned to hide his thoughts from Angel. Fang couldn't have destroyed all those different laboratories without Iggy. Iggy was the only one who knew what Fang was looking for. He was the only one who knew that Fang was destroying all those labs looking for Max…

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_Thank you all for reading this, though this is not the end, and I regret not updating for such a long time. I must admit I am proud of this particular chapter, because it is uncharacteristically longer that most of my others. Thank you all for reading again! Please review to your heart's content. Yours mysteriously,_

_~Margaret Lavorne~_


	10. What He Needs

**Hola! Here is the next chapter. It's been swirling around in my head for weeks and I just never got the chance to get it written down. **

**Max POV:**

I was moving from place to place, searching, always searching. It was wearing on me. My heart begged me to give up, and to give in. I refused. I would search my whole life until I found them, until I found _him, _my other half.

The hotel that I was currently staying in was a run-down dump, but it was all that I could afford, with my meager income of the odd-end jobs that I did. I vaguely remember some guy paying me 100 bucks for chopping firewood some months back. I think he felt sorry for me.

It has been over three years since I have been with my family. I can't say that I have held together well. Well, I guess if you wanted to get technical with it, I probably haven't held together at all.

After a day of delivering newspapers, (the paperboy paid me and took off), I got into the shower and washed away the day's dirt and grime. I dressed in one of my few, worn outfits and flopped onto my lumpy, unfamiliar mattress. I hadn't been home in a long time. After a while of sitting in silence, I grew uncomfortable. I grabbed the remote and punched in a random channel number. I had begun to like the drone of background noise. A newscasters voice droned on: _A man called the studio a few days…. _

I drifted off into numb thought. I felt empty. I didn't know what my life meant anymore. My heart was _so tired._ I mean, this was just getting so stupid. Why the hell couldn't I find my family?

A few words drifted into my empty conscience: _If you have any information regarding this woman, please call the number listed below… _

I vaguely wondered what the ad was about. I decided to listen, just out of curiosity.

"_When he called, the man sounded desperate, and he mentioned a small reward for any information. He was looking for a woman, around the age of 20, height of 5' 8", and brown eyes. She was last seen five years ago with brown hair. The man mentioned that she would probably be using an alias, but she went by the name Maximum Ride when she was last seen…"_

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped with shock. It couldn't possibly be—I thought. I cut myself off. I would not allow myself to hope and be let down. It would break me.

I grabbed a paper and pen and hurried to write down the number before it disappeared from the screen.

I glanced at the time. The clock's luminous red numbers read 10:30. I decided that it wasn't too late to call. After several minutes of staring at the cheap motel phone in complete shock and disbelief, I took a deep breath, picked it up and dialed. I held my breath anxiously.

A man's voice answered almost immediately, " Hello?" The voice sounded nervous, and edgy, like he had been waiting near the phone.

My heart jumped into my throat. I recognized that voice, _his voice. _"Fang?" I asked quietly, fighting to keep my voice even.

"Yes, that's me," he answered expectantly, obviously not recognizing my voice. Then, suddenly, a thought occurred to me. What if he didn't want me back? What if my family didn't want me back? So I quickly came up with a plan. "Hello…?" he trailed off questioningly.

"Um, yes," I replied. "I have information regarding the woman you were looking for on the news."

I heard him gasp on the other end of the line. "But," I trailed off, " I don't feel comfortable giving it to you over the phone. Will you meet me in the coffee shop on North Main Street tomorrow at 10 in the morning?"

He sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. How will I know which person you are?"

I thought for a moment. " You will know." Then I whispered too softly for him to hear, " That is, if I decide that you really wouldn't be better off without me…"

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**Fang POV: **

This was really it! There was a chance that I'd find Max tomorrow. Or at least be one step closer to finding her. I'd come closer than I had in five years. I wondered if I should tell the flock and get their hopes up. I decided against it, just in case that this lead was a dead end. I had just gotten off the phone with a woman, claiming that she had information on Max. She wanted to meet me in person though, make sure that I was the real deal. What if she didn't show up? I don't think that I could handle that. I would probably drive to my favorite cliff and break down. Or jump off with my wings pulled in. Hmm.

I have been a real mess since Max left, no, since I pushed her out of my life. I don't think that I will ever be able to forgive myself. That's part of the reason of why I have to find her. The other part is, well, I'm still totally and completely in love with her, even after all this time. I gave up trying to get her off my mind. I even quit flying, because it hurt me too much, reminding me of how much she loved the freedom it gave her. I didn't fly for two whole years, but eventually, I began to forget the little details about her, so I flew every chance I got, just wanting to remember. I retreated from my family, something that I regret now. I haven't spoken to them in months. Silence has become my refuge, and only when I found myself close to the breaking point did I break the silence and call the news station, begging for help.

My thoughts drifted back to the phone call, and I held onto the woman's voice, my shred of hope. I lie awake all night, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Finally, sometime around 3 a.m., I sat straight up in bed and asked myself, " god damn it all! Why the heck can't I sleep?" After a while, I sank back into my pillow, and allowed myself to think about Max. Memories of her holding Angel as a baby, forced to become a mother at such an early age. Her glittering eyes looking at me fondly as she smirked at something I said, her power and grace as she leapt off the cliffs. Her grin when I smiled. I almost think she had started to love me, until I forced her to leave. I was stupid to let the whitecoats get a hold on my thoughts. I should have been stronger. But I accept that I can't go back and change the past. Finally, thinking about Max, my eyes close and I fall into a, restless sleep.

* * *

**Flock POV: **

Nudge and Angel sat downstairs in the kitchen of the house that they all shared. Nudge looked at Angel.

"Angel, I'm so tired of things being so tense around here. It's just starting to get ridiculous."

The younger of the girls looked at Nudge and said with concern, "Nudge, I am so worried about Fang. I see things, like in his mind. They scare me. Sometimes I think it's a wonder that he hasn't committed suicide yet." She picked up her peanut butter and banana sandwich and took a bite.

Just then, Iggy walked into the kitchen. "Hey Nudgie," he said with a smile.

"Oh shut up," her response was flirty. She punched him playfully.

"Oh come on you two. Give it a rest," Angel smirked. " Back on an _important topic_," she paused dramatically, "I really am worried about Fang."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room and hung heavily. Nudge was the first to speak. "Angel, we have all been worried about him for the past five years. We have all begun to move on, and he," she stopped mid-sentence, "well, he just hasn't."

"The things that I used to see in his mind were bad, don't get me wrong, but these new things are much worse. I used to see this little weight of darkness pressing down on his shoulders. Now it's threatening to suffocate him from all sides."

Iggy spoke up. "Ange, we all know that he tried every drug out there, he tried pain. I think he even went to Church for pete's sake! Nothing helped him to forget. I don't know if there's anything we can do." He looked down sadly.

Nudge said quickly after thinking for a few seconds, " He need help, professional help."

Angel shook her head gently. "No," her voice faded to a whisper, "he needs Max…"

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**Hey it's me! I have finally come up with a way to continue this story. Sorta. Well, review and tell me what you think! The next few chapters should be interesting. Thanks for reading,**

**~Margaret Lavorne~**


	11. Decisions

**I finally had an inspiration to continue this story. And I just read the next installment in the MR series, Angel. Lets just say that someone need to punch James Patterson in the face. His plots are so predictable. He has turned the series into a joke. (Not to metion we all know books 4-7 are ghost written)...but yeah. anyway. back to the story. I spent quite some time thinking about how to portray these last few chapters. Hope you like them.**

* * *

**Fang POV: **

I woke up early feeling tired and anxious. I hoped the woman wouldn't notice the bags under my eyes. I was just so tired of searching and working to support the flock. I almost preferred being on the run…Almost. I washed my face, ran a hand through my hair with some water to smooth it down, and threw on some clean clothes.

I walked into the kitchen to see the flock go silent suddenly. They were talking about me again. I tried hard not to worry them, but sometimes the mask slipped.

Nudge looked at me and said "Morning Fang," with a smile. I nodded in reply and grabbed the box of frosted flakes and a bowl from the cabinet. I opened the refrigerator and poured some milk into the bowl of cereal.

"Did you sleep well?" Angel asked. I turned to see if she was talking to me.

"Yeah, fine," I said, even when she gave me a look knowing full well that I didn't.

The rest of breakfast pretty much ensued us sitting there, crunching awkwardly on our cereal in silence. Such fun.

I tried to keep my mind off of the meeting with the woman later today. I didn't want Angel to read my mind and to give them false hope. I could already see that they all worried about me. I didn't want them to worry. I was supposed to take care of them.

_Fang, everyone needs someone to worry about them. _Angel's voice popped into my head. Oh crud. I shut her out of my mind. I looked at the clock, 9AM. I had to meet the woman, the possible key to finding Max, in an hour in a coffee shop the next town over.

I put my bowl into the dishwasher and grabbed my coat. "Well I'm going to work, see you all later. Be careful." I stepped out and closed the door without looking back.

* * *

**Flock POV:**

Fang shut the door with a thud. Nudge turned to Angel. "He looks awful."

"He didn't sleep hardly at all last night. I think he was having nightmares," said Angel sadly.

"I really think someone has to get through to him."

"I just don't know how to get him to open up. His thoughts are so closed to me. I only get snippets now and then." Angel trailed off, and the silence grew to an unbearable level.

Gazzy poked Iggy "Can we work on the new explosive—I mean uh, um, truck today?" Angel had shot him a look.

Iggy winked in the Gasman's direction. "Sure thing, kid." Nudge got up and stuck her bowl in the sink.

"I'm going back to bed for a few more hours. Angel, it's your turn to wash the dishes." Nudge crawled slowly back up the stairs and disappeared around the corner.

The boys donated their cereal bowls to the pile and headed out the door to the old barn out back. Inside the barn was nearly the same sight as would be seen at a junkyard. The flock took turns working on making another jigsaw car to use around town besides the truck Fang used for work. He has gotten a new job out on a farm across town.

Angel washed dishes and put them away. She straightened the kitchen and swept off the porch. She was glad Fang hadn't made them go to school. That had only ended in disaster the first time. He had made them promise to take some classes and do educational stuff online, which with some hacking provided by Nudge, was a promise they all tried their best to keep.

Angel headed out to the barn to check on the guys. Just as she expected, they were nowhere in sight. They were probably out in the woods or near the creek a few miles from the house. She got out a few tools from the toolbox and began to fit pieces of the car together, testing if and how they worked together. Nobody knew it, but this was what Angel came to do when she needed to relax or think when she needed to be alone. Right now, Angel really needed to think.

* * *

**Max POV:**

I pried my eyes open to sun streaming through the window of my hotel room. I glanced at the clock. 9:45AM. Aw crap. I'm gonna be late. I leapt out of bed and ran into the shower. After the fastest shower I've ever taken, I threw on the new clothes I had gotten from Wal-mart. I think they flattered me. I think. I was never really concerned with all this girlie stuff before, but today could be special. I decided to reveal me as well…me, then I wanted my family's first impression of me not to immediately worry them.

I wore my hair down. It curled sorta around my face. I didn't even try makeup. It wasn't worth it, and I would just end up looking silly anyway.

I raced out of the hotel room with my beat-up car's keys and belongings. I didn't have much to pack up. I was halfway down the hallway when I realized I wasn't wearing shoes. Oops.

Eventually I got to my old sputtering car. When I turned it on, the clock radio read 9:56AM. It was a 25minute ride to the next town, and then I had to find the coffee shop again. I hope Fang didn't get impatient and leave. Oh god. Fang. I felt queasy and nauseous. Butterflies bounced all around my stomach. This was going to be a long car ride.

* * *

**Fang POV: **

I walked into the coffee shop right on time. I sat down at a booth near the exit after scanning for possible threats. After sitting for a while, a middle-aged waitress came over and asked me if I wanted anything.

"I'm waiting for someone," I replied. "But I guess I'll take a….Oh just surprise me." When she returned a few minutes later with some type of coffee looking drink, she looked at me.

"Are you waiting for a girl?" She asked me right out. I nodded. She left and I sat there, sipping whatever it was.

Fifteen minutes went by, and then twenty. The longer I waited, the more anxious and impatient I got. By the time 10:45 came around, I was near about ready to punch someone. Anyone. When 11 finally rolled around, I was wound tighter than a spring.

Another hour of mindless waiting passed. I looked around. I didn't see any women sitting alone. This didn't make sense! The woman on the phone must have heard how desperate I was. How could she do this to me? I hadn't gotten any closer at all. I put my head in my hands. After a while of inward despair, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see the restaurant deserted and the waitress staring at me with concern.

"I'm really sorry, but I don't think she's going to show up." She said softly.

I looked at her. "It's ok. Not your fault. Thanks…" I grabbed my coat and got up to leave.

* * *

**Max POV: **

I finally pulled my car into the parking lot at 10:50. I officially hate traffic. Especially since I have wings. I walked normally to the window of the coffee shop, trying to keep my heart from coming out of my throat. Fang. That was all I kept thinking. His name. I looked in a scanned the crowd, and not seeing him, almost threw up. But…no, there! Near the door he was sitting at a small table for two near the entrance, drinking a cup of coffee. I pressed my face against the glass. I had finally found him! He was wearing black (of course). His shaggy dark brown hair fell into his eyes the way I had missed so much. A little too long. He needed a haircut. And he was tall. So tall. He was way taller than me. He was more muscle than I remembered, and he looked so much older, even though only three years had gone by. He didn't look like the ropy teenager that I remembered. He was a man.

And all I had to do was stroll in, say, "I am Max!" and have this big happy reunion, just like in my head. My heart almost beat out of my chest. The tugging on my heart was pulling me in his direction. It was extremely painful now that I was so close to him.

He glanced my direction and I ducked. He looked healthy. And happy. Well, at least as happy as Fang could get. How could I come back into his life and ruin it? How could I ruin my family's lives? I just stood there for almost and hour, smiling like and idiot and standing there, outside the glass, just watching him, his body move as he picked up his cup to throw it away, or to shift into a more comfortable position. It was as if I had never left. I could still read his body language perfectly. We were made for each other. But I wasn't sure if I could totally uproot all I could see he had worked for. He looked clean and healthy. And he probably had a job and a home.

At that point, I came to a decision in my mind. This would be the hardest thing I would ever have to do. No. I couldn't do that to him. I loved him too much. I would rather be away from him and I be miserable rather than to make him miserable by destroying all he'd worked for.

A tear slipped out of my eye as I turned to leave, brokenhearted. But then, out of my peripheral vision, I saw him put his head into his hands, and his face fall. Hope found its way into me. Maybe some part of him did care for me still. Maybe.

As he got up to leave, I decided to follow him, and see if he really did need me. He walked out the door and I ducked behind a trashcan. I thought about the best way to follow him.

He climbed into a rusty of pick up, and started the engine. I decided to trail him by car. I climbed into mine and it sputtered to life. I pulled out into the road behind him, careful to keep enough distance that he wouldn't become suspicious.

Fang pulled his pickup onto the main highway. I tailed him, making sure I kept him in my sight. But then he started to gain speed. I had to try to keep up with him. There wasn't a lot of traffic so trying to blend in was really just a failed effort. He turned off onto an old dirt road. I followed.

* * *

**Fang POV: **

Someone was following me. I was almost sure of it. I hadn't noticed the weary old little car until it had pulled off the highway behind me. This was an 6 mile long dirt road that led to creek and several local farms. Not many people come down it. I followed the road past the two first farm turn offs. I turned left onto the gravel road leading to the farm at which I worked as a farmhand. I glanced in my mirror in curiosity and suspicion when I saw the car turn off behind me. I got this feeling in the pit of my stomach. I kept telling myself, _Maybe the Grahms are having company over._ But no. Mr. Grahm, my employer, and his wife rarely had company over. Not to mention the fact that there were no cars in the driveway, and the garage door was closed.

A sense of dread came over me. I thought all my days of running were over. Now, something, or someone, was after me. My truck bumped along the gravel road, and I sped up to try and outrun it to the property. As I swung around the corner to the driveway, my tires slung gravel and the truck slid halfway off the road. Luckily, with some quick maneuvering, I returned the tires to the rocks.

I screeched quickly to a halt and threw open the door. I made a dash for the woods.


	12. The Inevitable Truth

**Alright readers, Im getting closer to the end of this tale. I don't know how many chapters are left, or how much of the story. But I am excited because I was finally inspired to write the end. Review, comment, whatever makes you happy. I think this is one of my better pieces of work, this chapter. So enjoy one of the last parts to this story!**

**~Margaret Lavorne~**

* * *

**Iggy POV:**

I laughed at the joke Gazzy had just made. "I know dude!" I roared between spouts of laughter. "The flamingo just didn't know what hit him!" We were working out in the woods on our secret stash of firecrackers, which we kept hidden in an abandoned shed. There was quite a stash in there, with everything from smoke bomb to packages of 500 industrial sized bottle rockets. Everything had been "acquired" through tumultuous dumpster diving trips after the Fourth of July celebrations. The shed was decrepit, and had a bad case of mold, but for the most part is kept our makeshift bombs dry. We were currently working on a special surprise piece for Nudge's birthday. "So Gaz, have you seen that new video on Youtube?" I asked my brother as we worked.

He giggled like boys do. " The one about the farting dinosaurs? Or the funny video about cats?" His voice got higher at the end of the question.

I brushed some stray powder into the empty keg. "The cats video."

He sounded as though he was smiling. "No I haven't gotten the chance to see it yet. I saw bits of it when Nudge was watching it earlier with you." I thought about it. Nudge, sitting at the computer, describing the scene to me as I listened to the sounds. I could feel her warmth close by, her crazy curly hair tickling my nose as I leaned over her to get close to the speakers. "So, um, Iggy?" the Gasman asked me.

"Yeah?" I replied automatically.

I heard his shoulder pop as he shrugged. "Can I ask you something?"

I nodded and said nonchalantly, "Sure thing, kid."

He was quiet for a while. Then, all of a sudden, the words popped out of his mouth out of nowhere, like pop rocks. They surprised me. "Do you like Nudge? I mean like, LIKE LIKE Nudge?"

I awkwardly tried to laugh it off and wave the question away. "No, no. She's just my sister, little man. You'll always be my best friend."

He believed me. "Okay, Ig." We continued to work on the fireworks display for Nudge's birthday. It was coming up in a few weeks.

I paid attention to the wires I was connecting, and all of a sudden it grew really quiet. I could feel Gazzy looking at me innocently. Since when did he ever—" Oh no Gazzy. You didn't." I looked in his direction, pleading. That was when the stench hit my nose.

He apologized through coughs. I guess even he was sickened by his own…gases. "Sorry Ig. I couldn't hold it anymore," he hacked. That was when I realized that there was a punk burning in the back of the shed.

We were currently in the front, near the exit. I was halfway out the door saying, "Gazzy! We have to get out of here—" when the whole place exploded in a gigantic ball of burning orange.

I was thrown twenty feet back. When I finally landed, I landed hard. I didn't know if Gazzy had gotten out. I could still feel the heat, but eventually the sounds of the exploding firecrackers stopped. I tried to stand, but was forced back down by burning pains on my back and my feet. I crawled forward on my hands and knees. I could still feel the heat. It burned me as I crawled through the coals and the ashes, searching blindly, feeling around with my hands.

"Gazzy!" I shouted despairingly. "The Gasman! Buddy!" I called, hoping, praying that I would hear something. Anything.

There was no such luck.

* * *

_On a farm, nearly 20 miles away, a young woman pulls up in a worn little car behind a rusty old pick-up._

* * *

**Max POV:**

I jumped put of my car and slammed the door. Clouds had moved in, starting to darken the sky. I thought I saw Fang make his way on the path through the trees. I followed quietly down the path for a while. The tugging on my heart had been so intense for so long, the pain was getting unbearable. Why was I doing this? Why didn't I just walk right up to him and say, "Well, here I am,"? It was because I loved him. So much. Too much. Not that I was going to tell him that.

I looked around me. The trees were not extremely dense here. I could see that they ended in fields of soy and wheat. I caught a glimpse of him as he went around a bend in the trail. What was this place? Why was Fang here? Did he work here? Was this where he lived with the flock? This was not where I had pictured them living. I don't even know if I had pictured them living anywhere at all, but this certainly was not it.

It had been so long since I had seen Fang. I had dreamt about him almost every night, either good dreams, or bad. So many bad. It was as though he were glued to the inside of my eyelids. My view of his physical being had altered accordingly with his body changes already, nearly upon seeing him.

I thought perhaps the stream ran into a larger creek just up ahead. It was hot and maybe I could cool off in the creek later. I noticed that the sky looked ominously dark. A storm was nearly here. Little did I know, there are two different types of storms. What was Fang doing out in this weather? I tried to hurry because I had lost sight of him, quickening my pace. I walked quickly halfway around the bend, determined to catch up with Fang. That was when a hand came over my mouth and another threw me from the path, backwards, and up against a tree. Hard. I heard something pop. I grimaced in pain. Something was pinning my arms down. I struggled and struggled, but whatever it was way stronger than me. I couldn't budge.

My attacker yanked my hair out of my face and dug his elbow into my stomach. His body pressed into mine, pushing my back into the tree behind me. His hand yanked my chin up and forced my face into the light of the shadowed eaves of the forest.

And then I looked straight into his eyes. I melted inside. I was touching him, Fang, like I had dreamed about for so long, wanting, worrying if he was okay, or alive even. I tried to reach up to touch his scarred face. His scarred hands pinned mine down.

"Who are you, and why are you following me?" His cold, quiet tone sliced through the warm, humid autumn air. He didn't know. I just looked into his dark eyes. They used to be a warm, open book to me. Now they were closed and cold, ice cold.

I couldn't bring myself to do it. "Who are you?" He asked a little louder. His hands moved to my arms. He gripped me tightly. "WHO?" He shook me. His desperation unnerved me. He shook me again. "WHO?" He was so, so angry, and so bitter. A single tear slipped down my cheek as he pressed the bark of the tree into my back. I knew it must have hurt. But what stung more was his anger, his bitterness. He was broken.

I just looked into those dark, cold, soulless eyes that used to be my warmth, my love. And silently, six more tears fell. The boy I had loved was gone, and this broken, soulless shell with closed, cold, dark eyes was left in his place.

* * *

**Max POV:**

But as he looked at me, and I looked at him, I saw a flicker, a glimmer of recognition in the darkness. And slowly, I watched the warmth return to begin to heal the brokenness. And as Fang held me, pinning me to the tree, I watched recognition come to him. He let me go. He stepped away. I sagged against the tree, supporting my wracked body. He held up his hands in front of his face, not believing.

"No. It can't be. I'm going insane." He slowly uttered. But the words came more slowly, like a rain cloud slowly breaking open, or a man coming to new realization. His gaze returned to me. Our eyes were once again locked together. The silence drug on for what seemed like hours. We stood two feet apart, both shaken. This was it. Fang took another step back. I stood on my own. Hope returned to my heart.

And then, finally, _finally,_ Fang found both the courage and the voice to ask. "Max…?" He watched me. I watched him. And I nodded.

And that was that. We crashed together like the ocean waves and the shore. He crushed his lips to mine, and the sky opened up. The rain poured down over us as we clung to each other, tilting our heads this way, and that, trying to get closer. I clung to Fang. I would never let him go. I don't think he any intention to mess with my train of thought. Without our lips leaving each other, Fang lifted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. We spun in circles, me lost in his lips, until he lost his balance, and we ended up in a tangled pile of limbs in the grass under the tree. The rain had begun to slow down from the pelting large drops as it had begun. The wind had begun to calm its wild emotions.

I untangled myself from Fang and laughed with pure, unhampered joy as I started to get up. But Fang grabbed my hand, softly, gently, and pulled me back down on top of him, I rolled over, so that we were stomach to stomach. He held up our hands, palm to palm, and he interlocked his fingers in mine. And this time when we kissed, it was soft, and tender, and it was sweet. It was warm. His eyes were warm and deep. His whole body radiated it. Warmth. A fire, staring deep within my stomach, spreading up all through me. Our kiss deepened, our lips parted, and I clung to him, and he clung to me. I could feel all of him, his entire body, pressed against me. I felt the upraised scars, on his stomach, his arms, through our touch. The fire inside us grew to an intense want, a need. My eyes opened. Fang looked at me, our lips still pressed together, a question in his eyes. The fire deepened. More heat. No. And when the fire became too much to bear, I broke our kiss, took a hot, heavy breath, and laid my head down upon his warm, wet, t-shirted chest. Our bodies pressed together. Warmth. Heat. The silence grew. Our familiar silence was back. I had missed it, so much a part of us, almost as much as I had missed him.

And Fang opened up. "I never stopped loving you," He whispered into my hair. Our fingers still locked together.

I smiled into his chest. The truth was inevitable. No more denying, or avoiding. "I love you, Fang, so much." The weight of our words was almost tangible. It was as heavy as the wet clothing we were wearing. It was as heavy as our separation. It was real. "Fang?" I asked, my head still on his chest. He brushed a piece of hair out of my face in reply.

"Never leave me?" I pleaded.

He wrapped his arms around me, gently tilted my face back towards his, and pressed his mouth softly to mine. He whispered into our kiss, "Never."


End file.
